Case study A: Non-contributory social cash transfers in Zambia

Zambia is a southern African country with an estimated population of 16.5 million people, and copper mining is the mainstay of the economy. In 2011, Zambia was reclassified as a lower middle-income country against the backdrop of positive economic growth (World Bank 2019). However, persistent high poverty levels indicate that the benefits of economic growth have not been evenly distributed, as the country is consistently ranked among those with the highest levels of inequalities. In 2014, the Government of Zambia, through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, formulated a National Social Protection Policy to reduce poverty, inequality, and vulnerability; and to ensure quality and efficiency in social protection service delivery (MCDSW 2014a). The policy comprises of seven social protection pillars categorized as contributory and non-contributory. The contributory social protection pillars include varied public and private pension schemes, social health insurance schemes, workers’ injury compensation schemes, and labour-based benefits such as paid maternity leave. The non-contributory social protection pillars include social assistance, livelihoods and empowerment, and protection. The latter includes prevention of and rehabilitation of victims of gender-based violence, human trafficking, and child labour, among other vulnerabilities. The non-contributory social cash transfer programmes are provided under the social assistance pillar. The overall objective of the non-contributory social cash transfer programmes in Zambia is to reduce extreme poverty and prevent intergenerational transmission of poverty among beneficiary households (MCDSW 2014b). Specifically, the programmes aim to assist the destitute and incapacitated households to meet their basic needs, particularly health, education, food, and shelter. The first non-contributory social cash transfer programme was introduced in 2003 as a pilot project with the support of the Germany Agency for Technical Cooperation. The scheme provided cash transfer benefits to selected households in rural communities experiencing extreme poverty partly engendered by the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS and prolonged drought conditions. Since then, the Government of Zambia, with support of cooperating partners, has rolled out a variety of social cash transfer programmes for eligible beneficiaries across the country estimated at 538,000 households (MCDSW 2018). This case study gives a general overview of the non-contributory social cash transfer programmes in Zambia reflecting on the design, challenges, and prospects.